Literature and Society in Southern France between the Eleventh and Thirteenth Centuries

Overview

Overview

A revisionist approach to Eleanor of Aquitaine and the political, social, cultural and religious world in which she lived.

Eleanor of Aquitaine (1124-1204) is one of the most important and well-known figures of the Middle Ages; she exercised a huge influence on both the course of history, and on the cultural life, of the time. The essays in this collection use her as a point of entry into wider-ranging discussions of the literary, social, political and religious milieux into which she was born, and to which she contributed; they address many of the misconceptions that have grown around both Eleanor herself and the medieval Midi in general, and open up new areas of debate. Topics explored include the work of the troubadours and the importance to them of patronage; perceptions of southern France and its inhabitants by outsiders; the early history of the Templars in southern France; cultural contacts between the Midi and other parts of the Latin world; the uses of ritual and historical myth in the expression of political power; and attitudes towards women.

Table of Contents

Introduction [with Marcus Bull] - Catherine LégluIntroduction [with Catherine Léglu] - Marcus BullEleanor of Aquitaine and the Media - Richard W BarberEleanor of Aquitaine, the Coronation Rite of the Dukes of Aquitaine and and the cult of St Martial of Limoges - Daniel F. CallahanThe Templar Preceptory of Douzans [Aude] in the Twelfth Century - Malcolm BarberEvents and Opinions: Norman and English Views of Aquitaine, c.1152-c.1204 - John B GillinghamOccitan Literature and the Holy Land - Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Troubadours - Ruth HarveyThe Stripping of a Queen: Eleanor of Aquitaine in Thirteenth- Century Norman Tradition - Daniel PowerRaymond VII of Toulouse: The Son of Queen Joan, `Young Count' and Light of the World - Laurent MacéTroubadours and History - William Paden Jr